My Sleeve experience so far

[hopeandfaith 6]

I thought I would share my experience being sleeved. Maybe this will help some that are getting ready to be sleeved.

On January 11, 2011 I arrived at the hospital at 7AM. I got into my room and put the nice gown on with socks. The PA came to visit with me and again explain what was going to happen. The lab came in and took blood work one more time. The nurse came in to weigh me ONE more time. I had three hours to wait but it went by fast! In fact they called me to surgery sooner then expected. The nurse quickly gave me my Heparin shot which I was REALLY nervous about but you know what I didn't feel a thing. They also put a patch behind my ear....kinda like dramamine. I then was talken down to the waiting room for my operation. They put in the IV...again I didn't feel anything. My doctor came out to visit with me. They were waiting on a pregnancy test to come back. LOL I had my tubes tied at the age of 24 but still they have to check.

Finally, the Anesthesiologist come in and introduced himself and looked at my IV then gave me some medicine to relax me. I got into OR and within seconds was out.

When I woke up I was SCARED I was having heart problems...my chest hurt so bad. This time was the ONLY time I thought to myself "WHAT HAVE A DONE TO MYSELF". David who was taking care of me asked me how my pain was. I showed him where it was and he said that is GAS PRESSURE but it will go away. He gave me some medine. Then he said my blood pressure was up and gave me medicine for that as well.

Funny thing was there was a guy in the recovery room changing out light bulbs. I had to laugh at that! After a while they took me back to my room where my family was waiting. As soon as I saw my Mom's face I asked her if I looked skinnier yet! She just laughed and said YEP she is doing fine!!

I was dozing off for a while but knew I had to get up and walk. That really is the ONLY thing that will help with your gas. SO when the nurse came in I told her I needed to go the bathroom. I got up and went then walked the hall. I tried to get up every hour to walk. I did use the pain med's I was hooked up to..to help me sleep but I was up every hour. Finally, at 3 I just got up and walked the hall. I tried to walk as much as I could because reading on this website that is what I was suppose to do.

I only got nauseated twice but sat up and was fine. They did give me medicine to help me burp because the gas pain was the worst.

The next morning I had to drink some nasty stuff and they took xrays to make sure I didn't have any leakage. I didn't so they told me I could go home! I was SO HAPPY!! Once I got home I went to bed! Slept a lot that day. Got up at 5 the next day and started on my liquids. I did fall asleep for about an hour but then stayed up the rest of the day to make sure I got my fluids in.

I would have to say my third day was the worst. I know when you play sports, your muscles hurt more the third day then any other day. Today is day 4 and I am feeling MUCH MUCH better. Plus, I have past some gas which is the BEST THING EVER!!! I am sleeping with a heating pad and that does WONDERS too!

What you will need in the hospital:

I brought my housecoat and slippers but didn't use either one.

I did use my tooth brush and tooth paste.

Comb

Chapstick

Lotion.

I WISHED I would have brought some mouthwash. When you can't drink or eat and your mouth is SO DRY and your throat hurts my mouthwash would have done wonders.

I hope this helps someone. My experience has been GREAT so far! Keep your head held HIGH and know this is the BEST thing you can do for YOURSELF!!!

[treequeen 13]

Thank you for sharing your story so far... It does help to be able to visualize what it could be like after surgery.

[1-4-Many 2]

I thought I would share my experience being sleeved. Maybe this will help some that are getting ready to be sleeved.

On January 11, 2011 I arrived at the hospital at 7AM. I got into my room and put the nice gown on with socks. The PA came to visit with me and again explain what was going to happen. The lab came in and took blood work one more time. The nurse came in to weigh me ONE more time. I had three hours to wait but it went by fast! In fact they called me to surgery sooner then expected. The nurse quickly gave me my Heparin shot which I was REALLY nervous about but you know what I didn't feel a thing. They also put a patch behind my ear....kinda like dramamine. I then was talken down to the waiting room for my operation. They put in the IV...again I didn't feel anything. My doctor came out to visit with me. They were waiting on a pregnancy test to come back. LOL I had my tubes tied at the age of 24 but still they have to check.

Finally, the Anesthesiologist come in and introduced himself and looked at my IV then gave me some medicine to relax me. I got into OR and within seconds was out.

When I woke up I was SCARED I was having heart problems...my chest hurt so bad. This time was the ONLY time I thought to myself "WHAT HAVE A DONE TO MYSELF". David who was taking care of me asked me how my pain was. I showed him where it was and he said that is GAS PRESSURE but it will go away. He gave me some medine. Then he said my blood pressure was up and gave me medicine for that as well.

Funny thing was there was a guy in the recovery room changing out light bulbs. I had to laugh at that! After a while they took me back to my room where my family was waiting. As soon as I saw my Mom's face I asked her if I looked skinnier yet! She just laughed and said YEP she is doing fine!!

I was dozing off for a while but knew I had to get up and walk. That really is the ONLY thing that will help with your gas. SO when the nurse came in I told her I needed to go the bathroom. I got up and went then walked the hall. I tried to get up every hour to walk. I did use the pain med's I was hooked up to..to help me sleep but I was up every hour. Finally, at 3 I just got up and walked the hall. I tried to walk as much as I could because reading on this website that is what I was suppose to do.

I only got nauseated twice but sat up and was fine. They did give me medicine to help me burp because the gas pain was the worst.

The next morning I had to drink some nasty stuff and they took xrays to make sure I didn't have any leakage. I didn't so they told me I could go home! I was SO HAPPY!! Once I got home I went to bed! Slept a lot that day. Got up at 5 the next day and started on my liquids. I did fall asleep for about an hour but then stayed up the rest of the day to make sure I got my fluids in.

I would have to say my third day was the worst. I know when you play sports, your muscles hurt more the third day then any other day. Today is day 4 and I am feeling MUCH MUCH better. Plus, I have past some gas which is the BEST THING EVER!!! I am sleeping with a heating pad and that does WONDERS too!

What you will need in the hospital:

I brought my housecoat and slippers but didn't use either one.

I did use my tooth brush and tooth paste.

Comb

Chapstick

Lotion.

I WISHED I would have brought some mouthwash. When you can't drink or eat and your mouth is SO DRY and your throat hurts my mouthwash would have done wonders.

I hope this helps someone. My experience has been GREAT so far! Keep your head held HIGH and know this is the BEST thing you can do for YOURSELF!!!

Would you have been allowed to use mouthwash? Did they tell you that? If so, why would you not have been allowed to just swish and spit Water?

Dry mouth is one of my concerns. I actually gag if my mouth gets too dry. And, when you talk about having the dry mouth, do you mean while you were waiting for the surgery? Or after also?

[hopeandfaith 6]

My mouth was so dry my tongue would get stuck on my lips. I told my Mom I felt like the kid that would lick the frozen pole in the middle of winter and get my tongue stuck. LOL I was allowed to swish my mouth out with Water but it didn't help my throat. You get to eat ice chips after surgery but it really didn't help the dry mouth for long. Now my doctor had a patch put behind my left ear...which causes most of the dry mouth. Then after midnight I couldn't eat ice chips anymore....NPO....I had to do another leak test in the morning! Chapstick helped SO MUCH!!

[feedyoureye 3,087]

Thanks for taking the time to write all that down. I am going in to get my sleeve in 3 more days, so this really calms me down, thanks!

[hopeandfaith 6]

KEEP HIGH SPIRITS!! KNOW that what you are doing is for your BEST HEALTH! Don't get scared right when you wake up...MOST of the pain is GAS and you know you can get rid of that. I was just surprised in was in my chest so much. Once they told me it was gas I was OK. Like EVERYONE else has said WALK. Walking and moving around will get the gas out!! GOOD LUCK and I can't WAIT to hear back from you!!!!

[JDR 13]

I went in the day after you did Hope. The only thing I could think for the first 10 hours was "oh my god what did I do to myself" and "what a mistake this was". Now, only three nights and four days later, I am confident I made a good decision for my long term well being. I am sure you did too.

[hopeandfaith 6]

YES JDR...the ONLY time I second guessed myself was when I woke up and my chest hurt so bad. See my father died on the operating table during open heart surgery. So when I woke up and felt that pain I thought I was doing the same thing! THANK GOODNESS for David who was taking care of me...he took the mask off of me and asked if I hurt and where...when I pointed to my chest he told me gas pain. It RELIEVED me so MUCH but for a SPLIT second I said to myself WHAT HAVE I DONE TO MYSELF but then it was gone! LOL

[feedyoureye 3,087]

KEEP HIGH SPIRITS!! KNOW that what you are doing is for your BEST HEALTH! Don't get scared right when you wake up...MOST of the pain is GAS and you know you can get rid of that. I was just surprised in was in my chest so much. Once they told me it was gas I was OK. Like EVERYONE else has said WALK. Walking and moving around will get the gas out!! GOOD LUCK and I can't WAIT to hear back from you!!!!

I'll check back in as soon as I get hold of my laptop and I can lift a finger!

[selina 0]

Thank you for your post.. I know alot of people will appreciate knowing what to expect post op.. I decided to have VSG about a month ago.. Im nervous and happy.. Nervous that something will go wrong.. And happy to get my life back... Im going to see this through and pray... I know that God will keep me safe... Good luck on you journey...

I thought I would share my experience being sleeved. Maybe this will help some that are getting ready to be sleeved.

On January 11, 2011 I arrived at the hospital at 7AM. I got into my room and put the nice gown on with socks. The PA came to visit with me and again explain what was going to happen. The lab came in and took blood work one more time. The nurse came in to weigh me ONE more time. I had three hours to wait but it went by fast! In fact they called me to surgery sooner then expected. The nurse quickly gave me my Heparin shot which I was REALLY nervous about but you know what I didn't feel a thing. They also put a patch behind my ear....kinda like dramamine. I then was talken down to the waiting room for my operation. They put in the IV...again I didn't feel anything. My doctor came out to visit with me. They were waiting on a pregnancy test to come back. LOL I had my tubes tied at the age of 24 but still they have to check.

Finally, the Anesthesiologist come in and introduced himself and looked at my IV then gave me some medicine to relax me. I got into OR and within seconds was out.

When I woke up I was SCARED I was having heart problems...my chest hurt so bad. This time was the ONLY time I thought to myself "WHAT HAVE A DONE TO MYSELF". David who was taking care of me asked me how my pain was. I showed him where it was and he said that is GAS PRESSURE but it will go away. He gave me some medine. Then he said my blood pressure was up and gave me medicine for that as well.

Funny thing was there was a guy in the recovery room changing out light bulbs. I had to laugh at that! After a while they took me back to my room where my family was waiting. As soon as I saw my Mom's face I asked her if I looked skinnier yet! She just laughed and said YEP she is doing fine!!

I was dozing off for a while but knew I had to get up and walk. That really is the ONLY thing that will help with your gas. SO when the nurse came in I told her I needed to go the bathroom. I got up and went then walked the hall. I tried to get up every hour to walk. I did use the pain med's I was hooked up to..to help me sleep but I was up every hour. Finally, at 3 I just got up and walked the hall. I tried to walk as much as I could because reading on this website that is what I was suppose to do.

I only got nauseated twice but sat up and was fine. They did give me medicine to help me burp because the gas pain was the worst.

The next morning I had to drink some nasty stuff and they took xrays to make sure I didn't have any leakage. I didn't so they told me I could go home! I was SO HAPPY!! Once I got home I went to bed! Slept a lot that day. Got up at 5 the next day and started on my liquids. I did fall asleep for about an hour but then stayed up the rest of the day to make sure I got my fluids in.

I would have to say my third day was the worst. I know when you play sports, your muscles hurt more the third day then any other day. Today is day 4 and I am feeling MUCH MUCH better. Plus, I have past some gas which is the BEST THING EVER!!! I am sleeping with a heating pad and that does WONDERS too!

What you will need in the hospital:

I brought my housecoat and slippers but didn't use either one.

I did use my tooth brush and tooth paste.

Comb

Chapstick

Lotion.

I WISHED I would have brought some mouthwash. When you can't drink or eat and your mouth is SO DRY and your throat hurts my mouthwash would have done wonders.

I hope this helps someone. My experience has been GREAT so far! Keep your head held HIGH and know this is the BEST thing you can do for YOURSELF!!!

[DENISE 0]

Thank you for sharing! My surgery is set for 1/24/11 and I am going through all the same emotions. Its encouraging to hear from the other side!

[Greeneyediva 1]

Ditto on all replies, this information really helps, thanks so much. I'm a newbie on Vertical Sleeve Talk and I'm finding lots of info.

Never thought of chap stick, so I will make sure to have mine on hand. God bless you on your recovery.

[KabinKitty 10]

My surgery is February 2nd. I met with the surgeon and anestheologist last week. Hubby and I were told he would not see me for 4 hours after I go to the OR. The surgeon said it takes 1/2 hour prep before they actually begin surgery. He told hubby that he will come out to talk to him in about 3 hours.

The anestheologist told me that about 30% of the patients wake up to pain in the right shoulder/chest area. He said it is referred pain from the diaphram. He said if I experience it, just tell him and he will immediately give me something for it. I hope I'm not in the 30%, but at least I will know what's causing it if I am.

The hospital is a Center of Excellence and has had a bariatric department for over 30 years. I have alot of confidence in my surgeon and this facility. He does RNY, lap band and DS surgeries, but I think the sleeve is his preferred surgery.

[wareagle40 3]

I know what you are talking about the gas pain. I had it when I had my gallbladder removed. It didn't start immediately. I was home already and same thing I had no idea what was wrong. I couldn't get my surgeon on the phone so I called the pharmacy to see if I needed to call 911 and they told me it was gas. Nothing much you can do but it will be gone within 24 hrs and it was. But it did hurt. My surgery was scheduled for 3/11/2011 but I moved it up today to 2/19/2011. I am ready to start this journey. I started the pre-op diet 4 days ago anticipating moving my surgery up and have already lost 8lbs. YEY